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Texas
Preservation in Action Little
Tee Pee(s) on the Prairie
Wharton,
TexasRestoration
news from one of Texas' most Silent Counties
by Johnny Stucco
Visiting
Wharton? Book Your Hotel Here & Save: Wharton
Hotels |
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The Tee
Pee's beacon to weary travelers awaits restoration.
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, May 10, 2005 |
The
Tee Pee Motel of Wharton is currently
being restored and will soon be welcoming guests. The once-famous landmark has
been sitting deserted since the 1980s. Work began in January 2005 by Statewide
Solutions of East Bernard, Texas and at the rate they're progressing, it might
be finished by the time you read this.
This is the biggest news in Wharton
County in years. It's bigger than the night they burned the wooden sidewalks on
the square and certainly bigger than the night they cut down the Sycamore trees
on the courthouse lawn. It might even be considered a tie with the time Sheriff
Buckshot Lane burned the highway bridge. It's nice to get some constructive
news from Wharton County. |
| | Aerial
View of the Tee Pee Complex c. 1950s
Photo Courtesy Blue Dolphin Investments
LP |
Designed
in 1942 by George and Toppie Belcher, the eleven stucco and wood rooms were part
of that golden era of roadside novelties when people would drive miles out of
their way to buy gas from an oil-derrick service station, eat a hamburger served
from the belly of a giant fiberglass cow or go without lunches to see Ralph
the Swimming Pig at Aquarena Springs.
Actual construction of the
Tee Pee was delayed until after WWII.
The Belcher's began in 1947, when lumber and critical building materials were
still being rationed. Lacy Helms, owner of a Wharton lumber yard, had to jump
through Federal hoops and unravel miles of government red tape to just get enough
lumber to build the framework. But after completion - it made up for lost time.
If a family was headed toward Mexico in the 1950s - their map was usually circled
at Wharton - and "Tee Pee Motel" penciled-in
on the map's margin. |
| | The
motel before restoration
Photo Courtesy Blue Dolphin Investments |
| During
a 1997 report on the motel, while it was standing vacant, Houston
television reporter Nancy Holland said "It [the motel] says something about who
we were at a certain time.” [The tee pees] " have an innocence about them, even
though that might have changed toward the last years of their use. Actually, we
were probably never as innocent as we were naive.”
The restoration of the 59-year old structures has been promised more
times than there are tee pees; but this time they mean business. "They" being
Blue Dolphin Investments LP, the new owners. In addition to each unit having a
bedroom and bath, other amenities include refrigerators, microwaves and coffeemakers
- things that were either luxuries or science fiction when your grandparents stayed
at the Tee Pee. The complex will also include an RV park with full hookups.
Included in the new decor will be portrayals of Native American culture -
specifically "tribes that are a part of Texas'
history." Susie Dusek, spokesperson for the group says in their press release:
"With the help of ten Native American tribes, each of the Tee Pees will be characteristic
of [a] tribe and will allow each unit to take on it’s own personality." |
| | Restored
Tee Pees
Photo
Courtesy Blue Dolphin Investments |
There
was once a time when tee pee motels and tourist courts could be found all along
America's roadsides. But with the reopening of the Tee Pee, it will be the only
one in Texas and only one of four in operation in
the U. S. (The other states being Arizona, California and Kentucky.)
Even without an announcement of a completion date, the motel already has bookings
for both the Tee Pees and the RV Park. |
| | The
wind-swept tree is a permanent result of the near-constant coastal breezes.
Photo Courtesy Ken Rudine, May 10, 2005 |
| | Nearly
finished units.
Photo Courtesy Ken Rudine, May 10, 2005 |
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New Old Neon
Photo courtesy Susie Dusek, September 2005 | |
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